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Boston

Somerville Bike Infrastructure

Somerville Bicycle Infrastructure Overview (As of June 2024)

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Somerville demographic and geographic characteristics

  • Population: Approximately 81,360

  • Land area: 4.2 square miles

  • Average income: Approximately $84,000

  • Average single-family home value: Around $800,000

  • Ethnic mix: Diverse, with a significant presence of White, Hispanic, Asian, and African American communities

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Somerville Government: Who has power over bike infrastructure 

  • Mayor: Katjana Ballantyne

  • City Council: Composed of 11 members representing four wards and seven at-large positions, focusing on various issues including urban planning and transportation.

  • Government Offices Related to Biking:

    • Somerville Bicycle Advisory Committee: Provides recommendations to the city on bicycle-related matters; meets bi-monthly. Tom Lamar, Chair

    • Department of Infrastructure and Asset Management handles transportation issues.

  • Bike Champions in Government:

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Current Somerville Bike Infrastructure​

  • Dedicated Bike Path/Multi-use Path: 5 miles (including parts of the Community Path)

  • Striped Bike Lane: 15 miles

  • Separated (protected) Bike Lane: 10 miles

  • Combined Bus/Bike Lane: 2 miles

  • Total: 32 miles

 

Somerville Bicycle Infrastructure Plans

  • Bicycle Network Plan, released April 2023. 

    • Developed via a one and a half year period of public engagement

    • Establish an 88-mile network of connected bike facilities (current network is 30 miles, and is fragmented). (SomervilleMA).

    • A high-priority 40-mile network of bike facilities is to be installed by 2030--and the remaining miles completed over 20 years, by 2044. 

    • Goal: 15% of residents will use bicycles as main mode of transporation by 2050. 

    • Design features: 

      • Protected bike lanes separated from motor vehicle traffic

        • Bike lanes raised to sidewalk level for better separation

        • Floating bus stops with bike lane behind

      • Off-street paths

      • Neighborways, which are traffic-calmed streets that prioritize pedestrian and cyclist traffic over motor vehicles​ (The Tufts Daily)​.
         

  • Somerville Safe Streets Ordinance, passed by City Council 6/13/24. 

    • Formally incorporates the goals of the Bicycle Network Plan into street design processes

    • Creates an annual reporting process on a publically available website to document progress toward goals. 

    • Requires that 29 miles of protected bike lanes be built by 2030​
       

Biking Advocacy Groups

  • Somerville Bike Safety, Cofounders Arah Schuur and George Schneeloch

 

Somerville Biking Statistics

  • Percentage of residents biking to work: Approximately 8.5%

  • National rankings

    • League of American Cyclists--1st in Northeast and 5th in the nation for bike commuting

 

Historical Timeline:​

  • 2002: Installation of first bike lane in Somerville--2.7 mile Somerville Community Path

  • 2012: Boston bike share system (now called "Bluebikes") extended to Somerville 

  • 2002-2017: Gradual growth of on-street bike lane network to 23 miles

  • 2014: Somerville passes the first Complete Streets ordinance in Massachusetts

  • 2017: Adoption of the Vision Zero Somerville plan.

  • 2020: Completion of the Beacon Street Reconstruction with upgraded bike lanes.

  • 2022: 30.1 miles of bike lanes.

  • 2023: Launch of Bicycle Network Plan.

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